Our Attorneys

Kathleen Ford Bay

Partner
Tel: (512) 476-0005
Email: kbay@rrsfirm.com

Kathleen Ford Bay represents individuals with questions and issues related to their own Wills and, when helpful to the clients, revocable management trusts and related planning for potential disability and documents like financial powers of attorney, medical powers of attorney, and living wills. Kathleen is Board Certified in Estate Planning and Probate by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Kathleen’s practice focuses on Estate and Disability Planning; Probate Law; Elder Law; Trusts & Estates; Federal, Estate, and Gift Taxation; Guardianships; and Fiduciary Defense and Disputes (often representing the beneficiary of an estate or trust who wants to obtain information and understand the administration of the estate or trust). Kathleen is admitted to the U.S. Tax Court and also licensed by New York, where she practiced for 8 years. With proper tax planning, she assists individuals in minimizing and even avoiding estate and gift taxes.

Kathleen also represents non-profit organizations, primarily 501(c)(3) charities, in their everyday dealings (contracts, insurance, etc.) and their dealings with the state (franchise and sales tax exemptions) and Federal government (recognition and maintenance of tax-exempt status, unrelated business taxable income, etc.) Kathleen’s demonstrated commitment to the community reflects her dedication to focusing on and carrying out those charities’ mission. She currently serves on the board of the Austin Symphony Orchestra. She has served on the Endowment Committee of her church (All Saints Episcopal) and as chancellor (general counsel) for El Buen Samaritano. Bay has also served on the boards and advisory committees of other charities – on the board of what is now Humanities Texas (first appointed by then-Governor George W. Bush and later re-appointed by now Governor Rick Perry) and on the boards of the Lone Star Girl Scout Council and Austin Groups for the Elderly (and later its advisory committee). Kathleen has also served as a mentor in the public school system.

Kathleen has volunteered in many different roles as an alum of Rice University. The U.S. Army War College in Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, selected her in the 1990’s to attend its week-long course for civilian leaders.

Kathleen is dedicated to giving back to others in the legal community, in sharing with them the depth of knowledge she has developed over the years with the generous aid of other attorneys. She has been recognized by her peers as a Super Lawyer since 2003 and as one of the Best Lawyers of America. Kathleen participates in the Austin Lawyer Referral Service which assists people who need help in finding a lawyer in Travis, Hays, Bastrop, and Williamson counties. Kathleen frequently gives speeches to other attorneys and publishes articles for them. (Kathleen is one of the contributors to, and on the Advisory Board of, BNA’s Estate Planning and Trusts Journal.) In July and then in August 2009, Bay spoke first to trust officers at the Texas Bankers Association’s Graduate Trust School and then to lawyers at University of Texas’ Estate Planning, Guardianship, and Elder Law Conference on durable, financial powers of attorney.

Kathleen has a double-major Bachelor of Arts degree from Rice University, in English and Behavioral Sciences (Sociology, Psychology, History, and Political Science). She attended SMU School of Law for a year, married a soldier, and lived in Germany for two years, where she not only was a lieutenant’s wife, but also a GS-6 Miscellaneous Documents Examiner for a US Army division's Judge Advocate General office. (In the 1970’s, a JAG Miscellaneous Documents Examiner compare to a paralegal today. Upon returning stateside, Kathleen transferred to the University of Texas School of Law and graduated with high honors in 1979 and as a Chancellor. Kathleen also received the Order of the Coif.

Kathleen then went to New York and practiced on Wall Street. Kathleen’s roots in the Austin community go back to when she decided to come to law school here. In 1987, Kathleen and her husband, Austin, returned, with their first child. Austin Bay is a syndicated columnist with Creators Syndicate, Austin writes non-fiction and fiction and his columns on national defense security generally can be accessed at StrategyPage.com (see his Website too at www.austinbay.net). The Bays raised their two daughters in Austin. The elder daughter has now graduated from Rice University (with a triple major instead of the double majors her mother and father earned) and is working in Austin with BeiBay Productions (her own company). The younger daughter is a junior at Austin College in Sherman, Texas.

Professional Licenses & Memberships

State Bar of Texas, 1979
State Bar of New York, 1980
U.S. Tax Court
Order of the Coif & Chancellor’s Honor Society, University of Texas School of Law
Member, Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel
Member, National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys
Member, Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation
Member, Austin Bar Association
Member, Rotary Club of Austin, and Paul Harris Fellow
Member, Leadership Austin

Education

Doctor of Jurisprudence, With High Honors, University of Texas School of Law at Austin. 1979
B.A., English & Behavioral Sciences, Rice University, 1974